Opinion: Will $65 Laser Printer Impact Cost of Future Devices?

By Dennis Kuba
August 15, 2012

Amazon is selling a Brother monochrome laser printer for $65. In 1985, Apple’s Laserwriter for the Mac, arguably the first commercially successful laser printer, cost $6,995.
So in 27 years, we now pay less than 1 percent of the original cost! And for you economists, the dollar buys much less today than it did back then.
If one assumes a similar cost reduction over the next 27 years, we will be paying $6 for the new iPhone (with no contract required), $5 for the new iPad — or if you don’t want to pay anything, these low costs suggest both the iPhone and iPad will be given away FREE with an iTunes subscription.
Of course, Apple will certainly add new features and capabilities to justify a higher cost — perhaps it all fits into your heads up display glasses and SIRI can access or do anything. But even a new device like this will have dramatically reduced pricing based on the Moore’s Law cost curve.
Now, if we could only get healthcare to come down like this!

No Comments Yet